Electrical connector



June J. o. JOHNSON 6 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed Feb. 13. 1943 21 27 23 22 24 'NVENTOR $4155 0. dam/5am V ATTO Patented June 6, 1944 UNITED/STATES PATENT or ice i g V ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR James Jolinson, Teaneck, N. 1., assignor to "Aircraft-Marine Products,

Inc., Elizabeth,

N.'.J., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 13, 1943, Serial No. 475,702

- "z'ciaims. (01.173-269) a type of electrical terminal which is economical to manufacture, simple in design and efiicient in use. A further object is the provision of an electrical connector so constructed and arranged mg post in a more eflicint and satisfactory man'- ner than has heretofore been found-in the prior art.

There are connectors available'in the prior art which present a general appearance not greatly dissimilar from that of c'onnectors'embodying the present invention. These connectors, however, have the disadvantage that a plurality of them cannot be applied to the same binding post with anything like the economy of space that can be effected by the application of this invention; that is, although two connectors such'as may be found in the prior art may 'be' positioned over and clamped onto a binding post, these two connectors are devoid of any mutual cooperation whereby one complements the other in presenting the ferrules which carry the electrical conductors in any fixed or predetermined manner, or with the same close spacing thereof as may be provided by the use of the present invention. Likewise, there are double electrical connectors on the market wherein two ferrules are carried by a common contact member Such doubleferrules have their place, but in some instances they have the serious disadvantages that the two electrical conductors, when once fastened to such a double ferruledconnector, cannot thereafter be separated one from the other; nor can the two elec-- trical conductors thereafter be connected independently to different binding posts if such an arrangement should subsequently become desir able.

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide individual connectors particularly adapted to cooperate for connecting different conductors to a common terminal. Another object of the instant invention is to connect two electrical conductors to a binding post with the greatest possible saving in space while at the same time allowing great freedom in rearranging the electrical conductors and in connecting them, if desired, in different circuits and/or to different binding posts.

Another object of the invention is to provide,

as to cooperate with a second substantially identical connector to 'hold desired geometric relations while effectively connecting the two electrical conductors to the same terminal. Other objects will be in part pointed out as the description proceeds and will in part become apparent therefrom.

According to the invention the novel electrical connector is shaped so that it will interfit with a second electrical connector when the contact portions of the connectors are inverted and applied .face to face as, for example, upon a common binding post, and interengaging parts of the two connectors lock themselves in position with re-' spect to one another. In the'embodiment of the invention to be described each electrical connector is provided with a contact portion to be received by a binding post, a. ferrule portion to receive the end of an electrical conductor, and an intermediate shank portion. Each contact portion is provided with an edge to one side of the center line of the connector to serve-in aligning the cooperating electrical connector and each shank portion is provided with a shoulder of complementary configuration and similarly positioned on the opposite side of said center line and facing oppositely to said edge, whereby the shoulder on each of the cooperating electrical connectors engages the edge on the other connector; Thus the two contact portions of the two electrical connectors interflt so that relative movement between them is impossible and so that the ferrule portions are maintained substantially parallel with one another and in close proximity.

In this specification and the accompanying drawing, I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention and various modifications thereof; but it is to be understood that these are not intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention, but on the contrary are given for purposes of illustration in order that others skilled in the art may fully understand the invention and the principles thereof and the manner of applying it in practical use so that they may modify and adapt it in various forms. each as may be best suited to the conditions of a particular use.

. In the accompanying drawing, in which an exemplary embodiment for achieving the above objectives is set forth and in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout:

Figure '1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector embodying the invention crimped onto an electrical conductor;

Figure 2 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which two electrical conductors may be fastened to a binding post by electrical connectors of the type illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2: 1

Figure 4 is a plan view of an electrical connector of the type illustrated in Figure 1, but before application to the conductor;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the electrical connector shown in Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is an end elevation of the electrical connector shown in Figure 5.

Referring to Figure 1, an electrical conductor 50 is shown attached to an electrical connector generally indicated at 20. The electrical connector consists of a terminal contact portion 2|, a ferrule portion 22, and an intermediate portion 23, which may, as shown, form a shank of substantial length. Ferrule portion 22 is advantageously telescoped within a sleeve 24 as more particularly described and claimed in the applications of Stephen N. Buchanan, Serial No. 421,408, filed December 3, 1941, andVernon E. Carlson and Thomas C. Freedom, Serial No. 459,624, filed September 25, 1942, and the whole is crimped advantageously as more particularly described and claimed in the applications of Stephen N. Buchanan, Serial No. 421,408, filed December 3, 1941, of Uncas A. Whitaker, Serial No. 455,039, filed August 17, 1942, and of Stephen N. Buchanan, Serial No. 474,935, filed February 6, 1943, as at 26, into the bare wire 5! of conductor 50. As shown in Figure 4, the interior surface of ferrule 22 may carry serrations 25 to effect a more permanent bond between the electrical connector and the electrical conductor.

As illustrated'in Figure 4, shank portion 23 the faces; and thus the ferrules may be of diameter greater than one-half the width of the terminal. The ferrule used may be formed in any desired manner, e. g., it may be a'screw machine product,

or stamped out in a header, or drawn from flat metal by die stamping and subsequently riveted to the contact portion as in the application of Stephen N. Buchanan. Serial No. 332,812, filed May 1, 1940; or it may be made integral as described in the application of Stephen N. Buchanan, Serial No. 421,408,'filed December 3, 1941; or it may be drawn from fiat stock with an integral contact portion as set forth and claimed in the application of James 0. Johnson, Serial No. 465,527, filed November 14, 1942, or in any other desired manner.

The electrical connector described is susceptible to economic mass production, is rugged and simple in structure, requires no adjustment of any sort, and is not easily damaged. The invention lends itself to promote rapid installation and fool proof operation of the electrical connectors.

-As many embodiments of the invention may be made and as variations in the embodiment illustrated are easily possible, the invention is not intended to be limited to anything presented in the accompanying specification and drawing or as set forth by example but is intended to be limited solely by the scope of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. An electrical connector including a terminal contact portion adapted to engage a binding post, a ferrule portion adapted to be attached onto an electrical conductor and an intermediate of the present embodiment is approximately onehalf as wide as terminal contact portion 2i so that an edge 28 remains throughout approximately one-half the width of that side of the terminal contact portion which faces the ferrule portion. As shown in Figure 5, shank 23 is provided with a shoulder 21. Figure 2 illustrates the manner in which shoulder 21 interfits with aligning edge 28 to prevent relative movement between the two connectors illustrated and to interlock the terminals with the ferrule portions in the relation indicated. In this relation the ferrules are offset from one another not only with respect to the center line of the terminals, but also with respect to the plane of their contacting shoulder adapted to act asa stop for holding the connector in dmired alignment, said shoulder being approximately one-half as wide as said terminal contact portion, and an edge of said contact portion extending from said shoulder in alignment therewith.

2. An electrical connector including a terminal contact portion adapted to engage a binding post, a. ferrule portion adapted to 'be attached onto an electrical conductor and an intermediate shoulder adapted to act as a stop for holding the connector in a desired alignment, said shoulder being formed between the ferrule portion and approximately one-half of that side of the terminal contact portion nearest the ferrule portion, and the other half of said side presenting an edge adapted to engage and hold in alignment the shoulder of an adjacent, similar electrical connector.

JAMES O. JOHNSON. 

